compromise
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OurMine 'hackers' are targeting news sites now
OurMine has been making quite a name for itself this summer, pulling off account takeovers of several high-profile targets. Celebrities have, for the most part, been the target, with the most recent attacks being on Sony's Shuhei Yoshida and Star Trek actor William Shatner. But today, OurMine gained access to the backend of Engadget's sister news site TechCrunch, marking a significant change in target.
Hyperspace Beacon: Maybe SWTOR's treadmill ain't so bad
Sometimes we need to see certain things from different perspectives in order to understand the whole truth. If detectives listened to only one eyewitness, then the totality of the crime would be missing. They could head in the wrong direction, thereby letting a criminal go free and possibly detaining an innocent person. Although game design isn't exactly like busting a criminal, it is a lot like other parts of detective work. Designers attempt to determine why certain aspects of a game work or don't work. They gather data and design a balanced system, but the totality of success isn't seen until they gather eyewitness accounts from a number of different perspectives. This is why today I want to look at the positive side of the gear treadmill. Star Wars: The Old Republic launches a new game update today -- Update 1.6: Ancient Hypergate. Along with new warzone and space combat areas, this update adds a new set of top-level PvP gear, gets rid of a PvP gear set, and makes the PvE gear progression shorter by giving level 50s a set of Tionese gear. This update pretty much defines power creep, and normally, I would say that this kind of thing should absolutely be avoided in MMOs. However, this week, I'd like to take the opposite approach and examine why this is a good thing.
Apple and Samsung set to meet May 21st, hug it out over 48 hours
These two brawlers were given until July to come together and mediate over their numerous globe-spanning patent lawsuits, but it appears neither side needs to wait that long. According to Foss Patents, May 21st and 22nd have been circled on the calendar of a certain San Francisco courthouse, where Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero will attempt to arbitrate in a calm, soothing voice for two days straight. Presenting himself as a confidant who sits outside of the main litigation being conducted in San Jose, Spero has already asked both parties to open up and provide "candid" statements about the strengths and weaknesses of their own cases, as a first step towards identifying areas of compromise. Fortunately, he still has a few weeks in which to devise further cunning plans.
Gabe Newell confirms Steam security compromise
A few days ago we reported that Valve's Steam forum security had been compromised. A letter from Valve head-honcho Gabe Newell today confirms this fact and reveals that the intruders also gained access to a Steam database that contained a ton of personal information, such as usernames, encrypted passwords, email addresses, and encrypted credit card information. Newell adds that there is currently no evidence that any of that information was actually taken by the intruders or that credit card numbers or passwords were cracked. Steam users will be required to change their forum passwords when the forums are opened back up. While the company claims that no Steam accounts have been compromised, if your forum password was the same as your account password, a change would likely be a good idea.
Lindsay Lohan's Blackberry gets Parised
Ring any bells? It seems everyone's favorite Herbie Fully Loaded actress has gone and gotten her Blackberry compromised this week, which was then used to send her pals "disgusting and very mean messages." Lohan's spokesperson assures us that the messages weren't sent by Lindsay herself (whew), so if you've gotten a text from her recently telling you to buzz off, rest assured, she still loves ya. Furthermore, she's suggesting that the culprit might be one Paris Hilton, herself a victim of trendy device theft not long ago -- we think the lesson to be learned here is that mobile devices with full keypads are best kept out of celebs' hands.[Thanks, Jimmie Geddes]
Samsung universal HD DVD/Blu-ray player still a possibility
Their BD-P1000 isn't even -- officially -- on shelves yet, and already Samsung is talking about their next Blu-ray player. Well, not their next Blu-ray player, their next Blu-ray and HD DVD player. Samsung announced the possibility of a dual-format player last year, but later drew back from such plans, saying licensing agreements made such a player "impossible". According to Digital World Tokyo the unit may still see daylight, "if HD DVD proves as successful as Blu-ray disc". While we didn't think the battle would be decided so early, this could be a crucial period for Toshiba and their supporters to gain traction and force compromise from members of the Blu-ray camp. With shaky early reviews, Blu-ray may not be coming from the position of strength we previously expected.
